ACEP Calls Out Insurer Abuses During Surprise Billing Congressional Hearing

ACEP member Seth Bleier, MD, FACEP, testified in front of the influential House Ways and Means Committee during a public hearing in October to call out insurers and advocate for fixes to the severely flawed implementation of the No Surprises Act. Dr. Bleier raised concerns that the Independent Dispute Resolution process has been virtually inaccessible for smaller practices and called out cases where physician groups were subjected to significant reimbursement cuts. Learn more at acep.org/ACEPCallsOutInsurerAbuses.

ACEP Tells the FTC About the Devastating Impact of Corporatization in Emergency Medicine

During an September Federal Trade Commission (FTC) meeting, ACEP Executive Director Sue Sedory delivered candid remarks about emergency physicians severely challenged by the fallout from ever-increasing acquisitions in health care. Read more at acep.org/corporatization-testimony.

On the heels of this compelling testimony, FTC Chair Lina M. Khan joined ACEP23 to share the agency’s perspective on its work and how it could help protect emergency physicians.

And in our comment letter responding to the FTC and Department of Justice’s proposed updates to health care merger guidelines, ACEP urged the agencies to finalize these changes that would bring more scrutiny to health care mergers and slow down consolidation.

ACEP President Speaks at SummitIn October, ACEP President Dr. Aisha Terry spoke at the Summit on Emergency Department Sickle Cell Care, and discussed point of care tools, standardization of care processes, improving ED care and more.

New ACEP Resource Encourages Employer Transparency, Information Sharing

ACEP Open Book, developed with Ivy Clinicians, is a new tool for emergency physicians that uncovers employer practices and shares important information to help every emergency physician make the career decisions best for them. Vetted details, unparalleled access, and actionable insights about group structure, leadership, policies and more, make ACEP Open Book an indispensable resource. Learn more at openbook.acep.org.

Expand Your Knowledge of the Business of EM

Practice Essentials, an online, asynchronous curriculum developed by ACEP and EMRA, dives into reimbursement, contracts, operations and risk management, and other topics that may not have been covered in depth during medical school or residency. Developed for physicians, by physicians, this tool is free for ACEP and EMRA members and is sure to impact your practice every day. Learn more at acep.org/PracticeEssentials.

Members in the News

Ricardo Martinez, MD, FACEP has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. An increasing focus of the TRB is to strengthen the link between mobility, transportation, and health.

He is the former Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and during his tenure, the Agency reframed traffic safety injuries as a national public health issue.

Dr. Martinez is an adjunct associate professor of emergency medicine in the Emory Department of Emergency Medicine, co-founder and senior advisor of the Injury Prevention Research Center at Emory, and senior advisor to the Crash Injury Research Engineering Network at Emory in Atlanta, Georgia. He practices clinically at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.